Overwhelming amount of New York state voters support legal pot

New York state voters overwhelmingly support the legalization of medical marijuana and a majority support legalizing pot for personal use, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday.

Eighty-eight percent of voters surveyed said that they support making medical marijuana legal, while only 9% opposed. Voters showed a closer split when they were asked if they favored legalizing marijuana for personal use: 57% agreed and 39% opposed.

Medical marijuana is not legal in New York, but 20 states, plus the District of Columbia, have voted to allow use with a doctor’s recommendation. Colorado and Washington have passed laws permitting both medical and recreational marijuana use including the growing, sale, and consumption for people over 21. Colorado became the first to begin allowing sales on Jan. 1.

Marijuana is illegal under federal law. State laws are not being challenged by the Justice Department, officials have said, provided the laws do not contradict eight outlined enforcement priorities, like trafficking and selling to people under 21.

Nearly 1,500 New Yorkers were surveyed by Quinnipiac between Feb. 6 and 10.

Has pot legalization reached a tipping point?

Support for marijuana legalization is not only growing, but broadening across the political spectrum. The MHP panel talks about how decriminalizing pot became a potential political winner among politicians on both sides of the aisle.